News

Govan Law Centre (GLC) has called on the Scottish government for a strategy to address the adverse impact of Universal Credit (UC) which it describes as "unworkable" in its current form. Universal Credit is the UK government’s flagship welfare reform designed to simplify the benefits

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has made progress but concerns remain about its ability to balance its budget and meet longer-term strategic objectives, an audit of its accounts has found. The audit of the SPA's 2017/18 accounts confirmed that there have been improvements in areas such as govern

Gildeas Solicitors has welcomed three new recruits at its office in Edinburgh. Andrew Lattimore and Sam Durning have joined the team as claims handlers, while Stacey Sneddon has taken up the role of litigation secretary.

A major judge-led review of the administration of justice in serious sexual offence cases in Northern Ireland has issued 220 draft recommendations for consultation, including the provision of publicly-funded legal advice to complainants and restricted public access to trials. Sir John Gillen, a reti

The private client team at Balfour and Manson has been awarded STEP Gold Employer Partner accreditation, in recognition of its specialist skills in inheritance and succession planning. The firm becomes of only a handful of law practices in Scotland to achieve ‘Employment Partner’ status

A senior judge has warned that too few people are qualifying as criminal lawyers, The Brief reports.

A village of only 120 people has issued speeding tickets to more than 58,000 drivers – within 10 days of installing traffic cameras. Temporary cameras were installed in Acquetico, an Italian village on the border with France, after locals complained about cars speeding through.

A man found guilty of sexually abusing three boys who claimed that a police statement given by a witness who could not remember making the statement due to memory loss should not have been admitted as evidence has had an appeal against his conviction rejected – despite the fact appeal judges r

In a landmark decision, the Inner House has refused an appeal by the GMC against a decision of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) under s.40A of the Medical Act 1983. This is the first such appeal in Scotland. Laura Donald, a partner at BTO Solicitors LLP, provides expert commentary. BTO defen

The Scottish government has denied there is any problem with the legal aid duty rota after a freedom of information request revealed a fourfold increase in the number of solicitors withdrawing from providing cover in police stations. The new figures acquired by the Scottish Liberal Democrats show th

Morton Fraser has been appointed to the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Wider Public Sector Legal Services Panel. Morton Fraser is the only Scottish independent firm to be directly appointed to lot one of the panel, meaning its public sector team will be available to provide commercial legal ser

Davidson Chalmers has recruited Laura Irvine as its eleventh partner to head up its newly launched regulatory team. She joins from BTO Solicitors where she was a partner. One of Scotland’s leading data protection and cybersecurity specialists, Ms Irvine wrote the Law Society of Scotland’

The recent Court of Appeal decision in Bellman v Northampton Recruitment Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 2214 provides a stark, timely reminder of both the personal and legal consequences of what can happen when work outings turn for the worse, write Alan Strain and Kieran Buxton. Mr Bellman worked for Nort

Shepherd and Wedderburn has announced that Emma Robertson, senior associate in the firm's rural property and business team, has been accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in agricultural law. Ms Robertson joins a select group of lawyers with the accreditation, including Shepherd

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has highlighted an improving picture in its complaints handling, as it publishes its annual report and annual accounts which were laid before the Scottish Parliament earlier today. There was a 6.3 per cent increase in the number of complaints received